Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Bed Bugs And Apologies

“That was embarrassing what we saw,” Charles Krauthammer said about the Obama administration issuing multiple apologies to the Muslim world for the Koran-burning incident.

“We have gone from apology here to abject self-debasement and groveling. And groveling to whom? To the mob. We should’ve had a single apology from the commander on the ground and that’s it. Not from the Secretary of Defense. Not from the President, of all people. Remember when the president had to pick up the phone when there was a crazy pastor in Florida who wanted a Koran burning and he had to be talked out of it,” Krauthammer said on FOX News’ “Special Report.”

“Is the president in charge of offenses against a certain religious tradition in the world?” Krauthammer asked.

“This is a world in which nobody asked the Islamic conference, the grouping of the 56 Islamic countries to issue an apology when Christians are attacked and churches are burned in Egypt or in Pakistan. And have we heard a word from any Islamic leader anywhere about the radical Muslims in Nigeria, who not only are burning churches but burning women and children who are Christian in the Churches. When I hear that I’ll expect my president to start issuing an apology,” he said.

Commentator Kirsten Powers disagreed. When asked if the Obama administration went “too far” in their multiple apologies, “No, absolutely not,” she said.

“It’s not true that the Muslims never respond to it the way that they should. And the reason that Obama is apologizing is because he knows that there is a connection between this behavior and the American soldiers getting killed. It’s not — and you have General Allen is apologizing. I don’t know if they are attacking General Allen for apologizing in Afghanistan and saying we need to not have this happen again. And I think that what we just saw was addressing Muslims in the country, it’s an entirely different thing. If Bibles were burned, I think people would be demanding apologies,” Powers argued.

“No one would be killing anyone, however,” Tucker Carlson said.

“I’m not sure the argument that Kirsten has made that you have to do it as a way to protect our soldiers is correct because the fact that after the president apologized and after we have been on our knees groveling there was an increase in violence. I mean, it isn’t as if it has any effect whatsoever. It whets the appetite. People love to see America on its knees. Second, on the idea that their leaders, Mu slim leaders in the world who have apologized. There are 56 nations in the Islamic conference, has one apologized for the attacks on Coptics in Egypt? Has the leader in Egypt itself apologized? No. Sorry,” Krauthammer responded.

“I have a hard time following the idea that we should be demanding apologies from other people but we shouldn’t apologize. I mean, is this what people tell their children? ‘Only apologize if somebody else apologizes.’ We have our standards based on what we believe in. We are the United States. We’re better than those people,” Powers shot back.

“The reason we’re apologizing is not because of politeness or showing respect. A single apology would have done that. it’s the fear of violence. People don’t object if the Mormons are mocked on Broadway, if a Christian crucifix are put in bottles of urine and displayed at a museum because the violence isn’t a factor. People are afraid. You do a cartoon of Muhammad and you get beheaded or shot. It’s a matter of fear, it’s not respect. One apology is enough. It shouldn’t have been done, absolutely. All of this stuff is craven,” Krauthammer said.